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DOVER – The best-hitting team in college baseball does not reside in the SEC, ACC or Pac-12, power conferences that profit from elite talent, sparkling facilities and a warm climate.

The three leagues have combined for 13 of the last 18 College World Series titles. But the honor of being the nation's best-hitting squad belongs to Delaware State.

Their stats are impressive: At .347, their team batting average is No. 1 in the nation and 20 points better than second-place Louisiana-Lafayette, which enters the weekend as No. 3 team in the country according to Baseball America. Two Hornets seniors – Mike Alexander (.427) and D.J. Miller (.426) – ranked second and third in batting average.

There's not much of a drop-off after those two. Of players with 50 or more at-bats, six other Hornets – Cameron Onderko (.418), David Kimbrough (.396), Aaron Nardone (.381), Ron Farley (.380), Cameron Cecil (.372) and Charles Dailey (.343) – are hitting over .300.

"It's the best offense to date I've had as far as batting average goes," Delaware State coach JP Blandin said. "These kids are talented. No wheel has been reinvented or anything like that here. There's just a good structure in place for these kids to get better."

At 21-13, the Hornets are a work in progress. That record is a far cry from the juggernaut Blandin fielded last year, a team that went 21-3 in conference play and ended the season 33-15. They went into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament as the No. 1 seed and lost their first two games, a quick exit that stung.

"I don't want to go home before the conference tournament is over," Alexander said.

Alexander and Miller are fitting leaders for the Hornets; both are Delaware natives, Alexander a Delcastle grad and Miller an A.I. du Pont product. Alexander took a winding road to Delaware State, a journey that started at West Virginia, stopped in Carneys Point Township, New Jersey, at Salem Community College and eventually led him to Dover, where he played his first season in 2013.

"Delcastle isn't known for its sports, being a Vo-Tech school," Alexander said, "so it's pretty awesome to be playing back in Delaware. I talk to my high school coach all the time."

Alexander came to Delaware State a polished product. The catcher hit .434 as a freshman at Salem and .458 as a sophomore. He finished 2013 with a .367 average, tops on the team.

Miller, meanwhile, has been a project. After his senior year of high school, Miller had an offer to walk on at Delaware and a few scholarship offers from Division III schools. But an offer from Delaware State made his choice easy.

He has never lacked the skill, Blandin said, pointing instead to mental mistakes for some of Miller's early struggles.

"The one thing that I will say, in a lot of different ways, he's changed a lot of things about himself physically, baseball-wise, and in his life that have helped him get to where he is right now," Blandin said. "And I hope he's not done. He has a tremendously high ceiling."

Miller's stats have steadily risen: He finished 2013 with a .272 average, up from .209 in 2012.

"Just going out, partying, maybe not being focused for games when you're out till 2 a.m. I'd say that had a big role in it," Miller said. "When I go home before a game now, I just stay focused and hang out with my girlfriend."

Though their routes differed, both Alexander and Miller have been mainstays for an offense that has carried the Hornets to its current first-place standing in the Northern Division heading into this weekend's home series against Norfolk State.

Their main fault has been defense. In Wednesday's 13-8 win over Navy, the Hornets committed five errors, and all eight Midshipmen runs were unearned. Eighteen hits helped nullify the miscues.

"They care a lot about offense," Blandin said with a laugh. "Can we care that much about defense? Please?"

And that offense? There have been few mechanical tweaks this season, both coaches and players said.

Hitting coach Chris Barker said he makes a point of not changing any of his players' swings; he wants to maximize the swing they already have. Instead, they attribute much of it to work in the weight room.